The Infectious Anemia, or Swamp fever, was, apparently only found by random testing post-import. Defra says it tries to test all horsees imported from Romania, that it knows of. Currently horses can be freely transported between Ireland, Britain and France, provided they have ‘Fit to Travel’ certificates. This is very good for racing and for competition horses. it is possibly less good that it is easy to travel horses to France or any other European country, and then on to Britain...
This whole business raises some ugly questions, mainly, why import horses from Romania at all?There are very good Romanian horses. These could clearly be tested and then imported, if so wished. But loads of cheap,horses? Why? There seems to be rather too many horses in Britain already...

 Symptoms:The disease is caused by a virus and it causes severe anemia, high fever and death. The mucous membranes can be seen to be pale and sometimes have little dots of blood on them. The sick horse will be lethargic. As in many other conditions swelling may appear in the legs, lower abdomen and all areas where the circulattion is poor. The pulse is rapid and weak. Inco-ordination may follow as well as terrible weakness and loss of weight.. Death will usually occur in 3- 15 days.
Chronic cases can go on for longer with seeming recovery and then a relapse. Some horses, who have been exposed to infection, show no symptoms but become carriers.
A very few recover. These will invariably become carriers.
Tests:There is a very effective test, known as the Coggins test, named after Dr. Coggins
 Affected Countries: Swamp Fever is found in the Americas and parts of Europe. It is endemic in Romania.There have been outbreaks in France and Ireland, which have been contained.
Means of Spread: Swamp fever is spread by biting insects, mainly horse-flies, who move from an infected animal onto a healthy one. Injection needles and tooth-raps can also spread the disease. Feeding form the same manger and/or water trough may lead to infection. Insects are the main problem however.
Prevention/ cure: There is no cure althoough some animals will recover if supported through the crisis. This may not be a good idea, however, as these animals then become carriers.
There is no vaccine.
There are only two options; Destroy all infected animals and the healthy carriers, or segregate any carriers very far from other horses, further than insects can fly. That is quite far..This approach is sometimes taken but these animals can NEVER return to mainstream equestrian use.
For the moment, there is every reason to think this outbreak can be controlled. The affected animals have been slaughtered and tests are running on in-contacts. This is a good time of year for this problem, there are no biting insects. It can be stopped. But it is a notifiable disease and if you should get it, there is no getting away from Defra and the men in white...

Clear as mud? No doubt the Governement prefers us to think the rich farmers are rolling in compensation. It appears that the figures includes all the costs for testing and for disposal of the animals that test positive at the abbbatoirs and incinerators. A governement spokesperson reassures us that some costs are re-cuperated by selling parts of the carcasses, which are not all infected, for human consumption. So, what is it all costing? Good question
.Moreover, several dogs have caught tuberculosis, from sick or dead badgers. These dogs are now dead, in spite of being treated for the infection.Don’t let your terrier go digging in badger setts!
for more uptodate information about Bovine TB, go towww.bovinetb.blogspot.com
This is a very serious matter for those farmers concerned, and, as you can se, there are alot of them, and it’s not getting any better..10/12/09

As the young horse became more schooled and stronger in it’s musculature, it was possible for it to raise the forehand whilst maintaining contact with the bit and come into the “correct” outline for dressage and start on it’s more collected and difficult work.
Until a horse is strong in it’s back it cannot physically bring the quarters sufficiently underneath itself to take the weight transfer necesssary for the extremes of collection, piaffe and passage.
 This tradition appears now to regularily be taken to extremes by leading dressage-riders. In the hands of top riders, it is likely that the exaggerated flexion actually does help the horse to muscle up for collection. Apparently, if used regularily it also lifts the front-legs higher as a result of the “picking-up “muscles actually shortening in the forearm and shoulder. This gives the horse a higher front-leg stride in piaffe, it seems
What is worrying here is not the top riders and trainers. Dresssage is ever more popular and it appears that this method is far from ideal in the hands of the less well trained riders who have little idea of how the horse’s body actually works.
Most of the ladies wanting to do riding Club Dressage in Britain have an image of a well trained, obedient horse who is a pleasure to ride and work with. The images of the rolling eyes, the open mouths and chins in the chest are doing little to endear the sport to outsiders.
 Rollkur seems to work, that is the trouble. Top show-jumpers are frequently seen to warm horses up in draw-reins, with their heads very low and overbent. Possibly this also helps them with picking up the front legs over poles.
If something works people are going to use it. If Lasix didn’t do anything at all, it would not be stirring up feelings both sides of the Atlantic just now.
Neither Lasix nor rollkur can make silk purses out of sows’ ears. A horse has to have natural talent. But after that a dressage trainer can make or mar a horse.
The horse is a flight animal first and foremost. As such, it’s natural instinct is to raise it’s head in alarming situations, to look about it and see where the predator is and where the best escape route is. Rollkur stops that behaviourt totally and the horse has to give over absolute control to the rider. But then, perhaps that is dressage?
Is that really what we want it to be though?

Latest on the FEI ande Prohibited Drugs: Hope for a Clean Sport Again
01/12/09

FEI PRESS RELEASE
Lausanne, 1 December 2009
FEI DELAYS IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW PROHIBITED SUBSTANCES LIST TO 5 APRIL 2010
The FEI has announced today (1 December) that the FEI Bureau has passed a Resolution delaying implementation of the new Equine Prohibited Substances List and the accompanying Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication
Regulations until 5 April 2010. This Resolution has been passed in order to allow for broader debate and consultation on the policy change approved at the recent FEI General Assembly regarding the restricted use of a small
number of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
The FEI recognizes that a number of issues arise as a result of this policy change, which was voted in by a majority of 53-48 at the meeting in Copenhagen on 19 November. The change in policy will affect National Federations and organizers who must comply with state laws as well as international competition rules. It has implications for the breeding industry and the selection of horses and may impact on all those concerned with animal welfare. It also affects the laboratories involved in the
testing procedures. The decision, which reversed the 1993 ban on phenylbutazone, has provoked considerable debate among FEI stakeholders.
The FEI acknowledges that these concerns are all legitimate and feels that there is clearly a need for further debate on the issue. The delayed implementation of the new Equine Prohibited Substances List will also allowfor supplementary research to be carried out on the use of NSAIDs in thecompetition horse.
"The FEI has been criticized for not providing sufficient time forconsultation on the substances that differentiate the new policy from theold and there has also been widespread unease about the late publication of the progressive list", FEI President HRH Princess Haya said today. "Views that have been expressed since the vote are being taken extremely seriously by the FEI as legitimate welfare concerns and we give similar importance to our membership's decision to effect a policy change. In light of both these considerations, we felt it was only fair to delay implementation of the new list to allow everyone to have their say and let other veterinary experts look at the science behind this policy change. "The controversy surrounding the List has almost completely overshadowed theclean sport campaign, which received overwhelming support at the General Assembly. Now we can allow the focus to return to the wonderful work that has been undertaken by the Joint-Commissions chaired by Professor Arne Ljungqvist and Lord Stevens, which has provided a clear roadmap for the delivery of clean sport."

F.E.I Uproar over drugs decision. 24/11/09

 Vets world-wide are signing a letter to Princess Haya, the current FEI President, in an attempt toget a revisision of the recent drugs ruling which would allow limited use of anti-inflammatiorries and pain-killers.The new rulest would reduce the embarrassing number of horses tested “positive” in major competitions. Many veterinary surgeons oppose the ruling, which whas been brought in rather suddenly. In a letter co-signed by past and present members of the FEI veterinary committee, Prof Leo Jeffcott called the decision "premature, ill-considered and seriously retrograde" and says it will "lead to abuse and the participation of horses that are unfit to compete." Thsi does seem a rather valid point.
Phenylbutazone ('bute) is the most controversial drug on the list, but Prof Jeffcott also discussed raised thresholds for salicylic acid (aspirin) to which Polly Phillips' Coral Cove tested positive in 1998, costing Britain the world team bronze. Jeffcott said: "It became apparent that intravenous topping-up to the threshold level was not a rare occurrence." Other signatories include Alex Atock, former head of the FEI veterinary department in Lausanne, Andrew Higgins, FEI scientific adviser and its former vice chair and British team vet, Paul Farrington. Meanwhile, 40 European federations are consolidating their opposition through European Equestrian Forum (EEF), formed two months ago by organisers of 80 per cent of the global sport after concerns about the FEI's one-nation, one-vote policy. The British Equestrian Federation voted against NSAIDs due to lack of information.Andrew Finding, BEF chief executive, is working with EEF colleagues "to see what can be done to improve matters .
Sweden’s Bo Helander,the former secretary-general of theFEI, and now head of the Swedish federation said: "I have been in the FEI for thirty years and have never heard of this mysterious body, 'the industry.' What is it ?” He is right. This is sport, not industry. The rulings should come from the top, not the bottom. Why give up on having a clean sport just because it is difficult? Monitoring treshold levels will not be any easier!

The FEI (Federation Equestre Internationale), the Governing Body of Horse Sports has voted to accept the “progressive list” of drugs in competitions world-wide.19/11/09
So far we have had the  "current list" of drugs, which was basically zero-tolerance.
 Now the "progressive list" would allow low levels of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAIDs) within horse sport around the world. Horses may now be treated with small doses of Bute, Acylic Acid(aspirin) and Flunixin.This was a real upturn of the present policy and many National Federations are totally flabbergasted. "If the FEI accepts this, there will be uproar in many countries," warned Bo Helander of Sweden. "It's completely unacceptable for horse welfare, and changes the whole philosophy of the FEI." The Scandinavian countries are very against the new policy. Britain voted against the new list. Andrew Fielding said there had been to little time to consider the implications. There has been no time for aproper debate and consultations with veterinary experts. There will be some changes for the better:.
 There will be fewer embarrassing positive tests...And, it has to be said, sometimes a small dose can be kind to the animal. But, but this is a steep and slippery slope and the one thing about zero tolerance is that it is very clear. It means drugs are not allowed. The eventers are particularily at risk of over- medication.

 The best treatment for Mud Fever, just at the right time. 18/11/09 Horses are at great risk in all this wet mud!Since it is impossible to avoid the mud for most of us,here is the best way to clear the problem.The photo shows a very typical mudfever case, after being cleaned up and treated. Often the entire legs swell up, particuallarily the hind legs.

Mud Fever by our Veterinary Advisor, Dr. Ueli Zellweger
Mud fever in horses can occur in all seasons, mostly in autumn and winter when the fields are wet.
The symptoms are clear and it is quite often tricky to get quick healing with the usual ointments and timeconsuming bandaging.
Why is that?
It is quite common that there are mites involved. Mites are tiny spiderlike parasites sitting deeply in the skin and its crevasses. They are tricky to diagnose, that means to find one or two and identify them under the microscope can be very hard sometimes but any experienced vet surgeon will come to this diagnose after a very short check for there normally are absolute typical skinerosions.
These mites turn up in different varieties, e. g. Sarcoptes or Psoroptes are the most common ones. Sarcoptes tend to stay local at the lower feet region whereas Psoroptes can be seen all over the body surface.
There is only one cure promising speedy results or healing and that is getting an adequate antiparasitic solution from your vet and wash all 4 legs down or - better still - fill a 10 liter bucket and bath each leg in the solution for a minute or so, to be repeated sometimes after a fortnight.
It helps when all the cleaning gear and tackle are quickly washed or immersed too.After these washings the usual ointments work far better and proper results should be seen within a fortnight.
ATTENTION: these liquids are strong poison for any aquatic life; they must not be discarded in a careless way ( fishpoisoning ).

 Stop the Long Journeys to meet Death! 16/11/09
We applaud Princess Anne who has spoken out against the horrible travel that faces 100’s of thousands of horses destined to be slaughtered both in Europe and America.There is nothing wrong with eating horse-meat. It is lean and healthy.There is a lot wrong with subjecting a flight species to confined journeys in unsuitable transport.Unfortunately, in Europe many Eastern European horses travel to Italy and other parts of Southern Europe for slaughter.

 The French are often seen as the cheif villains but they actually, being French, prefer to eat well-reared French meat, so the horses for French consumption are not likely to travel so far. They do export very many weanlings off their heavy mares to Italy however. Still, as things go, that is nothing compared to travelling from say Russia for slaughter in Italy.

As we say in our articel on Rollkur , the horse needs to put it’s head up. It needs space.Confinement in cramped lorries with no head-room, no water, no food is totally unnatural. The horse is a nibbler, a dribble-feeder that needs to eat little and often. It needs to drink often.
 Yes, the photo is awful but we need shaking up. Join the Princess Royal in the fight against long distance transport to slaughter. The horse is not a holy cow. We have nothing against horses being eaten, but please, slaughter them kindly, close to home.

  Obesity? Surely not amongst horses? Time to tighten the girth and harden the heart 05/11/09

during the harsh winters when wild horses dig through the snow to gather a few morsels of edible dry matter. The stallion, tanked up on testosterone and general springtime high feelings would run himself ragged and lean during the breeding season, seeing off rivals, keep his own little herd together, chase the girls and so on. Then , in late summer/ autumn he would also lay down that bit of ‘condition’to sustain him through the coming hard months. Survival of the fittest.
Those that could eat enough to lay down fat for the winter.would see another spring..
 Yes, but nowadays horses live in cosy stables and wear rugs. Lovely haynets, armfuls of haylage and corn-buckets full of alfalfa and molasses are put in front of them all year round. It takes no effort whatsoever to keep warm if you’re wearing a15 TOG rug.. Nor do you have to scrabble in much snow if you’re housed on lovely, deep straw. Boredom is the enemy.
Humans eat more when bored. So do horses. if there is nothing else to eat, they eat wood.
We’ll explain, next time, why overweight is a killer. For now, just think about it and maybe take the extra rug off that sturdy cob!

 What does concern us a lot are purely human regualtions: Those of drugs and whips...
In the wake of the fantastic races at Santa Anita, for the Breeder’s Cup we do hope that the American Authorities will decide to use this venue for the Championship Finale to the flat-racing season every year. It is very appealing to us Europeans.However, the burning question of what is to be classified as DOPE and what is not remains to be solved.
 Man of Iron (above, winning the Marathon) ,who was AidanO’Brien’s only winner at the meeting , was also his ONLY runner on Salix... Mr. O’Briend states that he will review the drugs used on his horses before running them in America agai. it is possible that Mastercraftsman who suffered a seeming lack of energy in the final stages may well have run better on Lasix.
 All the other European trainers decidet that when in America, do as the Americans do. They used Lasixs and possibly the allowed amounts of Bute too.
There is nothing to say that this is cruel, in fact it may well be kind to horses to give them a little help to stop the unpleasant bleeding in theri lungs that plagues the species.
Nevertheless a solution must be found. Racing is a Global sport and also, nowadays, a Global Business.We think there is a very strong case for Global rules. Either all drugs and medications are forbidden. Or else, if they are very beneficial to the animals and improve theri quality of life, they should be allowed everywhere. Under strict supervison. As ever, once you allow something there is ahuge risk of abuse...
We don’t know which is the case, we need research to illuminate what actually happens with the use of Lasix( for further information, click here ).
it may, of course be just freak luck that made the runners who didn’t have any Salix run slightly dull races. it was the end of along season and they had travelled to a different Continent, after all. But questions are popping up. Research is needed and more regulations.
The reputation of American Racing is, I fear , one where numbers are more important than individuals. One should not dismiss all drugs. That would be stupid and unkind to the animals too.
The use of the whip is another case where International Rules must be set up. To European eyes it is ugly to see horses under the whip. The whip can be good, it has it’s use, but the over-use MUST be forbidden. That one is a much simpler issue. Perhaps the American jockeys should let their stirrups down a hole or two?
It might even please that God, of theirs, the one who has racehorses of his very own!

Sir,
My two young horses have both got mud-fever now. In the summer! Why is this? Their heels are cracked and their legs are very swollen. I don’t understand it, we have had a fairly sunny summer here, not like you seem to have had in the west-country. The horses have ben out all the time. They have a shelter. The grazing is not particulary muddy here at all.
Lorinda, Warwick, 24/08/09

Annie answers:
Horses seem to get cracked heels, especially on white pasterns, from sunburn. They also seem to become sensitive to rain, after a sunny spell. It has happened just now to a couple of my youngsters at grass too. Perhaps the wet grass doesn’t help.
If the legs are very cracked and swollen the best treatment , to my mind, is some bute. Penicillin may also be necessary so you may well have to go to your vet.

if it is not too bad, use some thick cream that stays on well. Pettiffers Green Oil lotion is very good. Put some on every other day. It forms ann antiseptic barrier-layer. If it is very sunny with you, in Warwickshire, some sunblocker may be a good prevention another time, or even now, to stop further damage. Let the animals move around, this willhelp bring the swelling down.

     TB in British Cattle
We feel this is a very important subject which is not getting enough publicity. People believe the governement knows what it is doing..

Many people are concerned and confused about the large number of cattle that test positive to TB in Britain. What are the proposals from the Governement? We have heard that Defra is recommending vaccination of badgers. Is this a humane solution to this long-lasting problem, which seems to be getting worse?
Vaccination sounds kinder than killing the badgers.
 Well, below we have a good explanation, by Dr. U.Zellweger of why vaccination may not be so effective
.Dr Zellweger comes from Switzerland, where the problem was dealt with very effectively . Switzerland is now free of Bovine TB.

What is the BCG Vaccine?
Is Defra tackling TB in the best way?

 
We are most grateful to Swiss veterinary practitioner Dr. Ueli Zellweger, seen on the left, who offers a thumbnail sketch of BCG, the vaccine with which Defra hope to stem the tide of badgerTB (and thus cattle casualties, camelids, cats and dogs, goats, sheep and pigs) by injecting the product into badgers, which are likely to already have er, badgerTB.
Dr. Zellweger and many others are less than enthusiastic about Defra's plans.

Here is Dr.Zellweger’s Paper, in full
"DEFRA and its TB Vaccine for Badgers and Cattle
The vaccine is called BCG which stands for Bacille CalmetteGuérin. This strain of bovine TB bacteria was found 88 years ago and has been the main one reproduced for vaccination ever since. It is common practice to cultivate virus and bacteria for a long time for after some 10 to 20 generations they tend to loose their power to infect but still may produce specific antibodies.
 BCG is rather an uncommon type of vaccine. In most infections the infected body copes with production of a large amount of specific antibodies within a few days which protect against an infection becoming serious trouble and these antibodies can be traced for diagnosis. This is not so with Tuberculosis for 2 reasons:
1. TB bacteria need 12 to 18 hours to multiply ( E. Coli takes 20 minutes only).
2. TB bacteria have a waxy coat – quite unusual in microbes – to which antibodies cannot attach themselves.
Therefore the body’s defence against TB has to work by making an allergic type of reaction instead of antibodies, a reaction which is made use of when humans and cattle are skin tested for TB.
We have pointed this out on numerous occasions, that 'reactors' to the skin test, both cattle and human, are 'reacting' not necessarily to active or infectious disease, but producing an 'allergic reaction' to exposure to the bacteria which causes disease. A serious, often fatal bacteria, which it must be stressed, has no place plastered in increasing quantities across our green and pleasant land.
In the past BCG was used for millions of doses for healthy young babies and in some countries it is still administered to a certain extent. It does not prevent an infection but minimizes the risk of it turning into a serious generalised form. BCG’s efficiency was never over 80% and new scientific papers say it is dubious to rely on it.
 The way BCG should work in already diseased badgers (and cattle) is highly questionable, meaning it is much more likely to produce adverse reactions such as awaking existing “ silent “ or low scale Tuberculosis.
The Merck Veterinary Manual covering all aspects of Vet Medicine worldwide comments:
“ The BCG vaccine, sometimes used to control TB in man, has proved to be poor at protecting most animal species, and inoculation often provokes a severe local granulomatous reaction.“ This is likely to be a quite hurtful process and the vaccination site itself might well end up as an abscess.
 As seen in trials one cannot trap more than 60% of all badgers roaming around. Therefore if 60 out of 100 badgers are vaccinated with a vaccine which is only efficient to a maximum of 50 - 80% ( in healthy animals! ) you end up with far less than 50 badgers with a rather dubious protection.
 It is well known and common practice that if you do not succeed to vaccinate up to 95% of all animals of a target species, the long term positive effects in an area are likely to be pretty close to zero. If BCG is used as planned by DEFRA there will be huge perturbation and stress for all badgers, high costs and risk that the whole project will backfire.
In the hot spots some 50 % or more of all badgers might carry the TB infection already increasing the risk of TB spreading when being vaccinated and according DEFRAs plans all badgers should get a booster vaccination every 12 months making things even worse.
Who will be liable when it all goes wrong?”

 You may well think that the first thing to consider is the mare. You’re right but there is something else that is even more relevant:
                                             Yourself.
Consider yourself and your own situation first
.Are you a resilient person? If not, don’t even consider breeding as an option.
 Breeders have to take such a lot of misfortune that if you’re going to feel terribly upset, then just don’t even start on this road. Why you say, what could be lovlier than going out on a summer’s evening to admire your lovely homebred colt playing as the sun sets?
Well, nothing. It IS lovely.
 But the road to this colt is difficult and beset with disappointments and expenses.. First you have to get the mare in foal. We’ll return to that one. The she has to stay in foal for 11 months and more. This is a long time.
 Then the foal and the mare have to survive the birth. In order to improve their chances to do so you should be present. You will want to anyway but, just think for a moment.:
 Do you go out to work? If so, have you got a sympathetic boss? You may arrive at work totally exhausted for a month or more, with having stayed up at nights because the mare can actually manage to look very imminent for that long. A month overdue is not impossible at all. Then she may well foal at lunchtime, whilst you’re at work.
 Will your boss and your work-mates be sympathetic if you should suffer a loss during this lunch-time? Hopefully you won’t, but if you do, it will hit you hard.
 There is the loss of the foal, the money ivested, nearly a year of the mare’s life and that terrible sadness that follows the loss of young life. Or the terrible complications involved with finding a foster-mother or hand-rearing the foal, should you be unfortunate enough to lose the mare.Now obviously, this may never happen to you, but if you have a very high-powered job it could be difficult. Obviously, hiogh-powered jobs are better paid and you can then solve the problem by putting the mare at livey at a stud where there are attendants available for constant supervision.
This give s everything a better chance of survival but is very costly.
 You may say that you will get a TV monitor and/or a foaling alarm and then you will sleep well until the mare is starting to foal. This will work if you’re a good sleeper. If not, you’ll find yourself watching the monitor for hours, even though nothing is happening. Or else, worse, the mare walks around a lot at night, looking as if she MIGHT foal and you stay awake watching.. Night after night.You also have to consider that your husband/wife/partner might get a bit fed up.
 There may also be an economic crisis following the efforts to get her in foal. This can be hard on partners, who don’t always share the desire to have a foal
  As we said at the start, the mare has to conceive to have this foal.  It will turn out more costly than you had anticipated, that is almost certain.The stud-fee is one thing. You can decide in advance how much you can afford, find a suitable suitor in that bracket and stick to this.What adds up is veterinary expenses and keep-charges.
 If the mare is in season, goes to stud, has a natural covering and goes home again, to be scanned some 23 or so days later and is found to be in foals , with a single pregnancy, you have done fantastically well! Fequently the mare arrives at the stud and is found to have gone off, or not come on, or whatever. She then has to stay at the stud, or be brought back again when she is in season. Time and money. Many studs use a vet to determine the optimum moment for covering. This costs money.
 If you use A.I. it is even more crucial to find the optimum moment and several vet’s visits will be needed, or the mare will have to stay for some days at the veterinary clinic, which will be even more expensive than a stud.
It is then possible that an antibiotic washout will be recommended, that the mare may need to be stitched up to prevent infection getting in, that the scans will be unclear, or, worse, negative. The mare will then have to be injected with prostaglandingn to bring her back into season again, or you have to wait another two weeks, until she comes on again by herself. You could have a twin pregnancy, which is so undesirable in the horse that the vet will eliminate one of the twins by squeezing it until it pops. Sometimes the remaining ex-twin also vanishes during this procedure. Result: go back to the start yet again! It is just like agame of Snakes and Ladders but rather more expensive.
As you can see, there is quite a lot to go wrong. This is why it is best if you’re either wealthy or very resilient, or, ideally, both.   Next time, we’ll think about wether the mare is suitable for breeding!

Bleeders.
 A lot of race-horses, possibly all of them, suffer some bleeding in the lungs during a race or a serious training gallop. This sometimes, but not always, manifests itself as a nose-bleed, in one, or both nostrils.
 A small amount of bleeding in the lungs can probably be regarded as normal. Excessive amounts make the horse run badly, for the obvious reason it cannot breathe so well with it’s lungs filling up with blood.
 The training of ‘bleeders’ has required skill for as long as throughbred racing has taken place. Possibly the horses have become more fragile, as they have become faster. It is also possible that nowadays, with our modern technology in the form of endoscopes, which enable vets to see right down into the air-ways, we just know more about what is going on inside the race-horse.
 Tranexcamic acid helps blood clot, as does a drug called Lasix, which is a diuretic.
In America, Lasix is legal and routinely used to prevent or reduce bleeding in the lungs. In Europe Lasix is banned.
The reason that American trainers are allowed to use Lasix and TA is that they cannot improve a horse’s performance in so far as they cannot make it run faster. They can possibly prevent the discomfort of bleeding. In effect, the horse will then run a better race.. So it’s performance has been helped.
 It is the same as Bute, the standard anti-inflammatory and pain-killer used in horses. This drug cannot enhance performance. Bute will not make a horse run faster. It will however stop the horse feeling some minor pain, therefore, in effect, it will possibly help it win a race when normally it might have slowed up because it was feeling some moderate pain. Bute cannot stop horses from straining tendons or suffering other major injuries during a race. it is even thought by some, to make bone more subject to fractures. 
In America, horses are on Bute, Anabolic Steroids, Lasix and/or TA, under veterinary control practically all the time they are in training.
In Europe we have a different approach and if a drug is used, it must leave the animal’s system before the horse can race. It appears that, to have any effect, TA must be administered within 4 hours of the race. It seems unlikely thet Moonlit Path is really the first horse in Britain to have raced with TA in her system. She is just the first to be caught.
It will be very interesting to see what the next British Horse Racing counter analysis committee meeting will have to say about this, especially with a skilled veterinary advisor who has been administering this drug himself, on the very morning of the race!
Obviously, without any idea that he was contavening the regulations. The fine that Nicky Henderson is faced with paying does indicate how seriously the issue is being taken. Many trainers must be altering their pre-race practices.

Mud Fever and Cracked Heels. See also the article on Mites above.

 Dear Sir,
How do other people cope with Mud Fever? My gelding has never suffered from this before and he was fine all autumn, in spite of the mud. After the cold spell, his hind legs suddenly swelled up overnight and I found tiny cracks at the back of his heels and under the pasterns. He is a thoroughbred type and lives in at night and I turn him out in a N.Z. during the day. I normally ride him three times a week but now he’s lame and sore.The vet has given him a course of anti-biotics and I think he’s getting a bit better but I’m worried that he always will get this problem now..
 Any ideas on prevention, I would be very grateful.
 Regards , Amanda, Exeter. 24/1/9

Dear Lisa,
Instead of getting better he developed lymphangitis and the whole thing has been a nightmare. His hind legs swelled up, all the way up, right up to the the groin sort of area. It was so painful he could hardly move. The vet made me walk him out for short walks several times a day, in hand. He had to have lots of anti-inflammatories and pain-killers. He is better now, at long-last but it has taken all my time and energy to lead him around four times a day and keep him dry and medicated, it has been a full-time job.. Only problem, I already have a full-time job.
Yours,Amanda, 18/03/09

Yes, Mud-fever can lead to lymphangitis, which is a horrible condition. You will have to be extra careful in the future but I had abroodmare that got lymphangitis once and she never got it again, so don’t give up!
Yours, Lisa, 24/04/09

  The letter below is from Isobel Emslie, in Scotland, who managed to save her horse, Terimah Kasih, after the mare contracted grass sickness. She has asked us to publish her story so that other people who have the shock news of this illness in their animals may be given some hope. Isobel’s story shows that sometimes dedication can save lives. Before handing the story to Isobel, we will tell you what we can about grass sickness:

Grass Sickness, a short explanation:
Grass sickness is the common name for a rare,normally fatal illness affecting equines. It mostly strikes horses in the age-group 2-7 years old, and usually affects horses at grass in the spring time and autumn. It rarely occurs either during hot summers or during below zero temperatures. Risk is increased when the temperature is between 7-11 C for more than 10 consequtive days.In our climate, this is a relatively common temeperature bracket. Grass sickness is most common in Scotland and Scandinavia, although cases have been seen in many parts of England and Wales and also in other parts of the world. It appears to be on the increase in England. Possibly this is because horse-numbers have increased in recent years.
Horses sharing a field with an affected horse are at great risk. Horses on neighbouring holdings are also at increased risk.
  It has occured in housed stock with no access to grass, a notable example being the thoroughbred stallion, Mister Baileys.
The disease follows one of these three patterns:
 1. Acute, when death occurs within 24 hrs, or the animal is simply found dead.
 2.Subacute cases, in which death occurs withing 4-21 days after the onset of symptoms.
3. Chronic. Chronic cases initially survive but lose a tremendous amount of weight and seldom make a full recovery. They can linger on for many months and can sometimes be nursed to recovery. Little is known about what percentage recover, or if they regain any kind of usefulness.
SYMPTOMS:
 The presenting symptoms are normally those of colic, i.e. pain and sweating, accompanied by muscular tremors. An inability to swallow is a serious indication that this may be grass sickness. The temperature will be raised. The horse may drool. The penis may prolapse. The horse will appear severly depressed. Rectal palpitation will find very hard faeces and the large intestine may be impacted. Early on, the stomach and small intestine are often distended by fluids which may result in gastric rupture and death.
 Chronic cases suffer tremendous weight loss, as can be seen in Isobel’s story below.
Outcome:
 Although a few survive the prognosis is bleak. Destruction on humane grounds is generally recommended.
 Cause :The cause of the disease is still not completly understood. Present research suggests that toxin production from the bacterium Clostridium botulinum type C is involved. This is a soil-borne bacterium which is best known for producing botulism, a fatal disease. Researchers think that when spores of C.botulinum type C are ingested with the grass, they can produce their toxin locally, within the intestine, which causes it to cease functioning.  Stress may pre-dispose animals to the disease.
There have been cases of wild hares, who have been found affected by similar symptoms in the same regions. Wether they have ingested infected materials from the same source or suffer from another disease is currently not known.
The Future? There is some hope that a vaccination will become available, in time. The research is currently funded by the public, if interested, go to www.equinegrasssickness.co.uk